Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Granny’s ghost

“Yesterday, I had a near heart attack when I saw my wife in the dark,” Vineet remarked jocularly.

“Haha. So, do you believe in ghosts,” asked his friend John.

“Nah, I don’t have time to believe in all these bullshit. I am more concerned about the vagaries of the stock market,” Vineet replied firmly.

“In that case, my friend, you would be surprised to know how many people claim to have supernatural encounters. My maid here tells me a fascinating experience that she had had with her previous employer. Let me call her. RADHA!-“

Radha appeared carrying a tray of tea and biscuits. John motioned her to sit down. She settled herself over the mat on the floor and looked enquiringly.

“This gentleman here does not believe in ghosts,” John told her lighting up a cigarette. “I want you to narrate to him the incident about which you had told me last evening.”

The maid hesitated a little and then plunged into her story. “Well Sir, before I was employed here, I used to serve another family in Calcutta. It was a family of three- Mr. Sharma, his wife and his daughter Sneha. This incident of which I speak happened soon after I joined service there. Mrs. Sharma, besides my household duties, had also entrusted me with the job of baby-sitting her daughter. Sneha was a quiet, little girl of about 10. I came to know, after joining, that Sneha was quite attached to her granny who died of gallbladder cancer only a month before they hired me. I never saw her granny (only the photo) but I soon realized that Sneha missed her thoroughly. She was a very reticent child and hardly spoke except when asked a question. I often found her weeping alone in her room clutching a photo of her granny. I felt for the poor child.”

There was a pause. Vineet sipped his tea through pursed lips and then enquired in a sarcastic tone, “Then what happened? Did your ghost make a dramatic appearance?”

“Yes Sir, I am coming to that. I vividly remember that night. It was raining,” Radha continued. “I used to sleep on the floor in Sneha’s bedroom. She used to sleep above on the bed. We were both fast asleep that night. And then, sometime, in the middle of the night, I woke up. I think it was the sound of thunderstorm that woke me up, but I felt the urge to use the bathroom. So I got up and went. After 5 minutes, I made my way back as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the sleeping girl. As I entered the room, I saw someone sitting by the girl’s side gently stroking her head. I couldn’t discern who or what it was for it was pretty dark. My first impression was that the child’s mother had come upstairs to be by her daughter’s side. But then there was a flash of lightning and in the light, I clearly saw her face. It was her granny. I had seen her photograph on numerous occasions. I shrieked. The apparition disappeared instantly. I narrated what I saw to the child’s parents but they played down the incident. They did not want their girl to suffer from any sort of anxiety or panic. I kept quiet on their insistence and did not tell the child what I saw. I let her understand that I shrieked as a result of a mouse running over my leg. But I swear Sir, I saw her granny. For a split second, our eyes met. She wore a sad and pitiable look,” Radha finished.

“Well, there you have it my friend,” said John to Vineet. “See, I told you lots of people claim to have seen a ghost. Here is an example right in front of you. Radha, you may go, “John dismissed the maid.

“Well, interesting though her story sounded, that might just have been a hallucination,” Vineet remarked, “Or a figment of her racy imagination. You never know with these young girls of today. I am still not convinced about this business. I refuse to believe in ghosts.”

“In that case, my friend, I propose that you take a tour of a graveyard tonight. It’s a challenge and I am ready to wager a thousand rupees. You have to pass the night all alone inside the graveyard. What say?”

“Challenge accepted,” Vineet coolly remarked.

As promised, Vineet spent the night in the local graveyard. His body was recovered the following morning. John shed a tear of sorrow and whispered to himself, “At least, he saw for himself, before he died, that ghosts do truly exist.”“Yesterday, I had a near heart attack when I saw my wife in the dark,” Vineet remarked jocularly.

“Haha. So, do you believe in ghosts,” asked his friend John.

“Nah, I don’t have time to believe in all these bullshit. I am more concerned about the vagaries of the stock market,” Vineet replied firmly.

“In that case, my friend, you would be surprised to know how many people claim to have supernatural encounters. My maid here tells me a fascinating experience that she had had with her previous employer. Let me call her. RADHA!-“

Radha appeared carrying a tray of tea and biscuits. John motioned her to sit down. She settled herself over the mat on the floor and looked enquiringly.

“This gentleman here does not believe in ghosts,” John told her lighting up a cigarette. “I want you to narrate to him the incident about which you had told me last evening.”

The maid hesitated a little and then plunged into her story. “Well Sir, before I was employed here, I used to serve another family in Calcutta. It was a family of three- Mr. Sharma, his wife and his daughter Sneha. This incident of which I speak happened soon after I joined service there. Mrs. Sharma, besides my household duties, had also entrusted me with the job of baby-sitting her daughter. Sneha was a quiet, little girl of about 10. I came to know, after joining, that Sneha was quite attached to her granny who died of gallbladder cancer only a month before they hired me. I never saw her granny (only the photo) but I soon realized that Sneha missed her thoroughly. She was a very reticent child and hardly spoke except when asked a question. I often found her weeping alone in her room clutching a photo of her granny. I felt for the poor child.”

There was a pause. Vineet sipped his tea through pursed lips and then enquired in a sarcastic tone, “Then what happened? Did your ghost make a dramatic appearance?”

“Yes Sir, I am coming to that. I vividly remember that night. It was raining,” Radha continued. “I used to sleep on the floor in Sneha’s bedroom. She used to sleep above on the bed. We were both fast asleep that night. And then, sometime, in the middle of the night, I woke up. I think it was the sound of thunderstorm that woke me up, but I felt the urge to use the bathroom. So I got up and went. After 5 minutes, I made my way back as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the sleeping girl. As I entered the room, I saw someone sitting by the girl’s side gently stroking her head. I couldn’t discern who or what it was for it was pretty dark. My first impression was that the child’s mother had come upstairs to be by her daughter’s side. But then there was a flash of lightning and in the light, I clearly saw her face. It was her granny. I had seen her photograph on numerous occasions. I shrieked. The apparition disappeared instantly. I narrated what I saw to the child’s parents but they played down the incident. They did not want their girl to suffer from any sort of anxiety or panic. I kept quiet on their insistence and did not tell the child what I saw. I let her understand that I shrieked as a result of a mouse running over my leg. But I swear Sir, I saw her granny. For a split second, our eyes met. She wore a sad and pitiable look,” Radha finished.

“Well, there you have it my friend,” said John to Vineet. “See, I told you lots of people claim to have seen a ghost. Here is an example right in front of you. Radha, you may go, “John dismissed the maid.

“Well, interesting though her story sounded, that might just have been a hallucination,” Vineet remarked, “Or a figment of her racy imagination. You never know with these young girls of today. I am still not convinced about this business. I refuse to believe in ghosts.”

“In that case, my friend, I propose that you take a tour of a graveyard tonight. It’s a challenge and I am ready to wager a thousand rupees. You have to pass the night all alone inside the graveyard. What say?”

“Challenge accepted,” Vineet coolly remarked.

As promised, Vineet spent the night in the local graveyard. His body was recovered the following morning. John shed a tear of sorrow and whispered to himself, “At least, he saw for himself, before he died, that ghosts do truly exist.”

“There's always room for a story that can transport people to another place.” ― J.K. Rowling

About Me

When he realized that he wasn’t made out for a corporate job, Ritesh Agarwal quit CA and took up writing as a full-time profession. He also enjoys teaching, taking amateurish photographs with his over-expensive camera and penning short stories (when he is not procrastinating, that is). Having reviewed dozens of books by dozens of authors, he is hoping that someday somebody would review ‘Lovelets’, the anthology in which he finally got published.
A multi-tasker at heart, he is also planning a career in baby-sitting and story-reading. If you have lots of babies or just wish to indulge in bookish chitchats, you can catch him at Facebook on www.facebook.com/RiteshIsGreatest or toss a friendly email at ritzy182000@gmail.com